Purchasing Your First Irish Property

Photo by Kristel Hayes on Unsplash

Ireland is a beautiful country, famous for its natural environment, rich history and culture of family tradition and community. Beyond those better-known traits, there are plenty more reasons to consider the Emerald Isle as a potential home. Every year, thousands of European and international natives choose Ireland as a place that’s great for starting businesses, finding work and starting a family. That said, buying a home in somewhere like Ireland isn’t a decision to be taken lightly.

It requires a person to lay down a number of costs and commitments, not to mention a desire to remain in Ireland for at least a reasonable length of time, or risk making a loss on your investment. Like the UK, you can expect to front costs and seek approvals with a few different parties to ensure you can legally purchase and afford the mortgage on your property. If you’re considering making a move to Ireland and purchasing a property there, we’ve pulled together a few critical points to consider when starting your house hunt.

Migration Process

If you’re purchasing a house in Ireland, you don’t have to fulfil any residency-related issues, which works in your favour. Someone from the EU, EEA, an Irish resident, or a complete non-resident can buy a house in Ireland. However, there are some restrictions and obligations if you want to move to, live in and work in Ireland for specific lengths of time. Those restrictions get a little more complex when moving a family across, or transferring an existing business, too. Immigration solicitors, Ireland or EU specialising, are often turned to in the two scenarios migrants usually face; either moving to or wanting to remain in Ireland. There are a variety of options available to you that they can walk you through in terms of how you can qualify to keep living in Ireland, including naturalisation by residence, and a variety of different work permits, under which you must meet certain standards of working in certain industries, or for periods of time.

It’s well worth investing in legal support to allow you to live in Ireland legally, as the cost of purchasing the house, while a savvy investment, is still a risk and a commitment of large amounts of money. A failed application could mean losing out on that investment value.

The Common Costs

There a plenty of different costs to consider beyond the house price of the property you want. Mortgages are at the top of your list, banks and mortgage brokers will work with you to decide a rate that’s suitable for you. Legal fees are next up, as solicitors will assist you through the contractual procedures. After that, consider the registration of deeds and stamp duty as additional administrative spending that needs to be budgeted for.

Following this, you then going to need to consider furnishing, contents insurance and the many incidentals that come with buying and making a house a home. Irish mortgage brokers are often more than just support to secure the mortgage. They can explain the nuances of the Irish market, what to look out for and what to avoid in the bidding process, too.

Selecting a Property

Outside of Dublin, there are many beautiful and suitable places to live in Ireland. Galway, Westport, Skerries and Malahide all offer variations of Irish living. Some reside near the coast, while others are home to many ex-pats from the US or Europe, as they offer a sense of familiarity to them from day one. You will have to house hunt on your own for much of the process, as Irish real estate agencies tend to only show houses they are listing, and local paper or property sites are your best bet to find the most desirable properties as soon as they go live on the market.

A top tip to remember, too: if a property was bought since the 1st January 2010, its selling price will be published in the Irish Property Services Regulatory Authority’s ‘Residential Property Price Register’, where you can track the rising or falling in value of the property over time.

Selecting Ireland as a new home is a choice many have already made, and the country is much more than its capital. It offers connectivity to Europe, combined with the peace and quiet of idyllic seaside or countryside living. If you’re considering buying a house there, the devil is in the details. All you need to remember is to ensure you’ve used the resources available to you, including professional services like agents and lawyers. Do that, and your journey to your first Irish property will be far less stressful and cost-effective.